The Role of Community Involvement in Malaria Control and Prevention in Abia State, Nigeria

Community engagement and participation have played a critical role in successful disease control and elimination campaigns in many countries. Although malaria is endemic in many parts of the country, the knowledge, attitude and practice of the community about the disease prevention and control options are far from perfect, and misconceptions and malpractices are common. The study conducted between January and April, 2016 aimed at evaluating the role of community involvement in malaria prevention and control. A cross-sectional approach was adopted through collection of data using pre-tested structural questionnaire. The information included such variables like knowledge, attitude and practice of malaria control and prevention. Other variables include community involvement in planning, supervision, monitoring, ITN distribution, training and practice of malaria prevention. A total of 2000 fully completed questionnaires were retrieved consisting of 950 (47.5%) males and 1050 (52.6%) females. Majority of the respondents (94.8%) were literate with 64.9% married. The results further revealed a total of 1967 (98.4%) who claimed they have a good knowledge of malaria as a disease. However, only 1657(82.9%) knew infected mosquito bites as the cause of malaria; although, some have misconceptions on the causes of malaria. Almost all the respondents correctly associated malaria with clinical symptoms of the disease. Majority of the respondents have good knowledge of environmental factors predisposing to malaria with 887 (44.4%) for stagnant pool of water, bushes around the house recorded 764(38.2%) while refuse was 185 (9.3%). However, 87 (4.4%) had a misconception that cold weather is one of the factors that predispose to malaria. The result also revealed that community members were not involved in planning, supervision, monitoring and training in malaria control programmes. Only 1.5% of the respondents acknowledged participating in ITN distribution programmes. All respondents affirmed the availability of healthcare facilities in their communities; however only 63.8% claimed they use these facilities. Reasons for non-use include use of herbal medicines (62.0%) and self-medication (29.8%). On preventive measures used, insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) had the highest percentage with 29.7%. Despite increased access to this intervention over time, the use of ITNs still remained low. All respondents claimed involvement in the monthly sanitation programme. However, only a little percentage (1.3%) performed this exercise weekly. Although various malaria interventions have emphasized community participation as a vital tool for effective malaria control and prevention, the issue on ground is that community members were not involved in the planning, supervision, monitoring, training and distribution of ITNs. Therefore, existing efforts must be strengthened and health education programmes intensified to improve community participation towards malaria prevention and control.